Gammalite

I did Chief, my very next sentence I said Why >>>> . Because they are PAID to do so, and they are role models. A true professional would 1. Follow the Rules, 2. Do his best to provide 100% service to paying clients, and 3. Always be 100% considerate of all his fellow competitors regarding safety. (before even mentioning Integrity) Even a slightly ' jaded ' bowler in the cricket nets, could course a nasty incident , if not 100%? That professional bowler is not paid to go in at 99%, ( a horse race IMO being 100% is just as important !!!! ) The Role model factor important too. (e.g The tennis wankers abusing everyone like Kyrgios need evicting) In horse racing You can't have the young (or old) drivers, jockeys all thinking "Blair or CJ were partying hard last night ! and then rode Sunday" "We can do that next weekend at Blahs 21st Sat night then!!" Unfortunately these guys / girls are in these sports so HAVE TO set a higher standard than you or I.

Well whether you expect it or not , Professional Sportspeople Have to set a higher standard. They are Paid to Do just That Chief. (plus they become role models whether they want to be or not) Warnie and Boony a great example, as we laugh hard out loud at their Exploits , but you can BE SURE and certain that Cricket Australia everyday sits all the players down and says either 'Don't do what Warnie and Boony did"" or "This is what is expected of you .......blah blah...." And of course minor Safety issues will come in to it as well regarding alcohol limits, as in any job. Not having alcohol in your system Match day (or even training day) is SURE to be a major Priority for most Professional sporting organisations. Harness Racing Integrity is 'doomed', if our fine Horsemen can't Set the HIGH STANDARD MarkyMark mentioned.

Haha very good lol ! Won't be able to Chief, for a while, as he got 5 meetings suspension last time in 2016 , How many does he get this time? I'll just have to await his return for a bet !! lol..... Don't think his overall driving ability is in question at all . MarkyMark covered many aspects that were in question. Did you agree with them? (on previous page regarding professional sportspeople)

Yeah true, It's getting like a harness race. I guess it was such a serious incident, (more than a Spitfire gallop lol) and your leading driver's reputation is now in tatters (especially dumb second time around), and didn't want you going down that path condoning that behaviour leaving your reputation in tatters as well. Afterall , THE VERY BEST must lead by Example .....hahahaha

Geez Brodie , You miss the point in your rush to defend Blair O who Broke a Rule in place for the benefit of everyone. You already asked how is he spose to know whether he's 100 or 120 or whatever. That is in effect the actual problem. The answer is glaringly Obvious. And how the hell do you know Blair Orange alcohol metabolism rate.???? When was his last drink?? Why did he present over the limit at the track? At what rate per hour does it clear from your system Dr Brodie.>>> ZILCH by the time he drives you say ???? You're ZILCH CHANCE of knowing that, so is a rubbish statement. Are you being dumb? , just like Blair , to prepare to drive with that silly arguement. "Gee I hope i'm ok by race 1" MarkyMark gave an excellent post on what should be the professional approach by sportspeople and what is expected of them , etc . You should go back and read it.

This comment is EXACTLY the problem Brodie . That is why we are arguing against him instead of FOR him (being unlucky, still able to drive better than all others , etc......) Anyway MARKYMARK has answered it PERFECTLY just now up above in a post regarding Professional Athletes and Sportsman. Thank-you Marky Mark,!!!!!!!!! you and Blossom and Galah have summed it up so well , after I was going down the gurgler to the Chief too. ..... What do you think Brodster? It's Australia Day so time for a beer to celebrate !! (no drives tomorrow lol....)

Blair made a mistake (twice) and YES it would be great if the journo didn't report it as is detrimental to harness racing. But it's a pretty big error by a leading driver and big news when he gets the penalty coming. (and the Penalty suffered by punters as some of the BOAY posters said already) I was Trying to come up with a solution to avoid recurrence . Don't 'dance with limits' being the easy one. If I was in a race with someone been drinking , I'd swack em with the Whip so hard they'd probably want to bail out, then I would hopefully win and pay the UNAPPROVED use of the Whip fine...... lol

YES, that is correct !!!! The Rules are different, and you are actually doing a different TASK chief. as for your up and coming drivers , well for Under 20 year olds on the road here in OZ, the limit is ZERO already. Should / would be the same in a horse race I really hope??????. (WHy not for all ages then, and make it Completely safe !! even nuns could drive !!! lol........ fun photo you found, (is that returning to scale Avondale?) and avoid the dreaded BLAIR BLUNDERS altogeather. !!!!!!!!!

Would you seriously UP the threshold for race drivers chief , ???? to that of the road ? and then run the risk of 'Bad judgement" of people still driving over that limit when 'thinking' (i call it Not Thinking) that they are FINE to drive? Surely better to drop the road threshold back to the mild trots level would be better. (ZERO% the BEST level) IMAGINE in a race , with some 'drunk driver' sticking his wheel under your horses legs ????? your life in their hands for the sake of a few drinks ?? HAVE a beer after the races FCS.

They randomly pre race, post race test horses. Jockeys too ,They have found cocaine, weed etc, Luke Tarrant , Katsidis in QLD got long sentences. KEEP TESTING , yes indeed. The track needs to be safe , a dangerous workplace already. Definitely get some breath tests if you hear about the big parties night before. Good on the Stewards !!! There prime job is to make the races SAFE AS POSSIBLE for the competitors. Heaven forbid it be like the roads.

USA has one alcohol related death on the road per HOUR , zero % seems a better idea to me. Bloody virus, not sure what is best there, but haven't NZ and OZ done well overall.? UK in total crisis. Hope Auckland folk ok and that SA strain contained. Aussies and kiwis pretty smart (unless drinking night before the Day trot's Blair and Co ...lol......) Even as far as 30 years ago we had designated driver every weekend for your adventures/ parties !! works fine . Drink Poweraid or some shit like that and no alcohol on your driving day. (car or races) not hard to do. I think its awful that some think it ok to drive in a horse race with 'some' alcohol traces. Hard to believe some do that. There's obligations to consider. Blair is good, but that's no excuse. I could drive the same in a race after consuming a '6 pack' or not, BUT wouldn't do it. It's against the rules. and against your mates and punters etc too.

Should be the same Chief YES , at zero . None of this BS then, No alcohol related deaths on road, Hundreds of thousands saved in court cases (OZ and NZ) heaps of people Saved from EmBarassment. ? Like Mr Orange. But because it isn't BLAIR and others have to follow the RULE in Place. Brodie is doing the Old Timeframe arguement. (Should be good to go by the time the first race hits the track) wow , talk about 'run the gauntlet.' better not to Brodie. People are poor judges of their own abilities while intoxicated lol...

Unfortunately He Did put himself in that position to be tested. (again) . Most over the limit people thought the "Alcohol would be out of system" before getting behind the wheel. What a Poor excuse. As for being dobbed in ? Did you want them to sneak about at the Mot after the big party ? just in case? A lot of people would be talking about the 'get togeather' so was GOOD reason to test some IMO by the stewards. safety is paramount. Why should other people in the races be compromised by a repeat offender , who might be driving at 99%, 98%, 97% ,96% ........coherence? Yeah yeah not much you say BUT It should be 100%. not this guess about how much 'limits' leave you impaired BS. The rule is there ! follow It , or look like a goose.

Rules are in place to make racing safe as can be for all competing. Blair Orange (and Mr Butt) has breached an important rule (and should KNOW BETTER from previous experience) Of Course its a LOW threshold (and definitely it should be too !! ) Some posters think they can 'drive' fine at certain readings , well everyone is different , WHY take Chances .??? Blair and Bob did the Wrong thing and will be penalised for their stupidity. (but will be back winning at some stage). why people are worrying 'Who broke the story is a mystery'. It's a big story (and IMPORTANT learning one for all industry participants. (Some People learn faster than others apparently) OF course when the Leading driver is relieved of his drives it Should make the 'Headline News' really. and is another Black eye/embarrassment for harness racing (von-beynon or NO von-beynon)

Don't get so upset with it Karrots, All good. just a bit of fun. JJFlash has plenty of posts here , there , wherever. and doing fine. My guess is NO-ONE left this site because of the Flash. so probably don't read it like that Perhaps he meant you sound more like Chief because you and he, both have an Excellent eye for all the yearlings at the sales ? whether be thoroughbred or Standardbred. ........hehe I use the Rossini 'WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE ' for motivation !! play that one and your horses seem to go Faster !!! OR>>>>> When they get beat just kick in with a bit of Elton John and SAD SONGS (say so much) lol....... You can play either one while at BOAY. !!!

Hey Thomass***** , there's 30 years of winning races for Nat, 39 years exactly for Mark, both in your fine nation and all over Australia as well, without being DQed, even if you think Allstars get 'legal' protection there , they certainly wouldn't get it here. (and they won PLENTY over here over the years) In fact, Natalie Rasmussen's sister VICKI as trainer, won with the 2 Allstars horses (again) last Sat night in QLD. Do you need to investigate???? Look for some foul play in your imagination? Maybe it's just the The Horses are Pretty good, and the horsemen / women are exceptional !!! INNOCENT until proven guilty , and sentenced. That's where case is at. also its 'Damocles' if you want to use big words from history.

I don't think you're being scammed though. (Definitely would be, if they laid off into a different pool, or another race) BUT If they TAB put it /some of it/ in the Quinella pool for that race. Fine By Me. I just have to cop the $1.70. That's where it would of been, and possibly would of paid (more likely $1.05) if BoysGetPaid put in on the tote, by not getting a special offer price. (I imagine the special offer is for 'continued and outstanding support' week to week.) fair enough. They suck up to high rollers at the casino as well. small fry just have to suck up the dividend posted. nothing new. Plenty more races after that?

Crikey Karrots !!! that looked particularly nasty. When a Cyclist can't recognise the Stallion in the harem , Things go wrong quickly. I reckon with that force , that guys arm is broken......... ouch.... stallions bite HARD.

Ohhhh Ok , In that case both the mobs should of done it 'behind closed doors' then. As everyone knows mostly A LOT of big bets go on behind closed doors (with varying odds) that you, I ,or especially that big player Brodie would not get, be offered. My immeadiate thought was 'Thats a big bet involving 2 horses' ? Twice the chance for something to go wrong. But must be nearly 'over the line' for that much money to be on. Thought about taking it myself.

Weight of numbers sure is an important factor in being a dominating force. (like Te Akau and Allstars) BUT don't forget , just like everyone else , these outfits select yearlings at the sales and/ or have Owners who breed from their stock , so Richards /Purdon/ Rasmussen have to APPLY their procedures and skill to get that stock to the Winners circle. And Mr Richards doing slightly better than predecessors as Freda said through this thread, and Mark Purdon , already a fine trainer, went to absolute 'Stratosphere ' level when Natalie Rasmussen joined him a few years ago. (she was already a champion winning 4 Interdominions (biggest harness race there is) with Blacks A Fake. Think they have won the last 5 NZ Cups and Auckland Cups as well. Totally amazing trainers !

With A quinella pool and the dividend paid, always depend on the amount of bets on the correct combination. What's new? Fixed prices can adjust as well prior to an event , depending on how many combinations on each offer. That BoysGet Paid bet was huge , why shouldn't the tab draw from the pool (as they always do )to pay it? seems only fair. Also BGP gave everyone else the 'Heads-up ' to take that combination as well if they wanted. Fixed price Quinella seems a little hard to control as just so many combinations. ? crazy stuff. I think it's a miracle it didn't pay $1. 05

Well that is Bad Luck for the Punters unfortunately as Blair Orange let them down. A RULE he should of been very conscious of after the 2016 episode too, for the same thing. Levels should be ZERO . (my personal opinion for car driving too) and how much the reading is and speculating whether "I'm FINE to drive, Only had one (or two at the most I think)" should not even be a Factor. Horses race in 'close proximity', even the best drivers like Blair need to be 100% concentration to keep the safety aspect 100% under control.

Hahaha NO Brodie, NO driver should be drinking any alcohol before race driving whatsoever. Even in Hot Old Queensland here menand young mates driving, nor anyone else ever drunk before the races. Better to run with the Zero reading my friend !! Have a beer AFTER THE LAST and if you did a 'Good Job' and drove or tipped a winner OWNER"S Shout !!!!

Macca's at HILLMORTON on map, looks a good place for a feed on the way. If you were running early , you could call in BENTWOOD wines.....

Com'on JJ !! play the game, fair dinkum, this is public forum. Anyone registered can respond if they want. Message Brodie with your 'private' stuff if you don't want other comment. Brodie would be De-Lighted to hear from you. ?